Introduction to Part Seven of the Book of Isaiah

Part Seven of the book of Isaiah (chapters 40–55) addresses the community of Judean exiles in Babylon. It encourages them to believe that, as incredible as this might seem, King Cyrus of Persia will defeat the Babylonians and take over their empire, and he will allow exiled peoples to return to their homelands. It challenges them to stop worshiping Babylonian gods and to start worshiping Yahweh again.See the discussion in the introduction to the book of Isaiah of how, in the view of some interpreters, the oracles in this part of the book appear to have been spoken by a living member of the Judean exile community in Babylon. Other interpreters, as that discussion also indicates, believe that Isaiah son of Amoz spoke all of the words in the book that bears his name, 150 years before the end of the exile. Both of these positions are held and defended by scholars who are equally committed to the inspiration and authority of the Bible as the word of God and to God’s ability to reveal future events to his prophets. It is not necessary to decide between these positions in order to translate this book. These notes use the name Isaiah conventionally throughout to mean the author or authors of the book of Isaiah.In this part of the book, the prophet speaks many times about a special servant whom Yahweh has appointed to accomplish his purposes in the world. In some contexts, this servant is clearly King Cyrus. In other contexts, the servant is identified as the nation of Israel. In still other contexts, it seems to be the prophet himself. And in some places, the servant is an unnamed person who will appear sometime in the future. From the character and actions of this person, Christian interpreters have long recognized these places as prophecies about Jesus the Messiah.This part of the book has two major sections. In the first section (chapters 40–48), in a sustained series of oracles, the prophet presents an expansive vision of the magnificent possibilities that lie before the Judean exiles if they will only return to Yahweh and trust in his promises. This section, like others in the book, is built out of individual oracles that are connected by similarities in language and imagery. Over the course of these oracles, the prophet proclaims to his fellow Judean exiles in Babylon that Yahweh wants to bring them back to their land so that they can be a messenger to all nations. He describes how Yahweh wants to use the Persian emperor Cyrus as the instrument of this deliverance. And he pleads with the people to trust in Yahweh, to believe that he hasn’t abandoned them and that he is able to rescue them.In the second section (chapters 49–55), the prophet speaks very personally, telling his own story. He describes how the people have rejected his message and even attacked him for proclaiming it. Nevertheless, he finds renewed strength and confidence when the Lord affirms his prophetic mission and shows him that it will ultimately have more far-reaching effects than he has yet imagined. The oracles in this section are also the ones that speak most prophetically and poignantly about the future work of Jesus.

Introduction to Isaiah 40

Structure and Formatting

1. Yahweh calls the prophet to speak for him (1–11) 2. Compared with Yahweh’s great power and wisdom, nations and idols are nothing (12–26) 3. Yahweh cares about the exiles and will strengthen them (27–31)